By: Mehwish Ali
Timeline 1939-45

What were the circumstances in the Occupied Territory that compelled the policies implemented by the occupying power there? How was policy shaped to address these circumstances?
  • The French policy restricted indigenous participation in the local government. Meaning, that the proportion of indochinese natives found in official administrative posts is much smaller than ones found in British or Dutch colonies.
    • This policy is because France failed to provide adequate welfare of the indigenous population which lead to plae indochina under the control of an international administration, which would follow a course meant to bring about the eventual independence and rising standard in living for the local inhabitants.

What were the effects of the occupation of your territory on the occupying power's war effort?
    • Japan entered Indochina on September 22, 1940. An agreement was signed, and promptly violated, in which Japan promised to station no more than 6,000 troops in Indochina, and never have more than 25,000 transiting the colony. During this time, Japan was slowly moving in towards Indochina but didn't fully attack it until right after the attack on Pearl Harbor. As a result, the conflicts from 1939 to the fall of France had little impact on a colony such as Indochina. The Japanese permitted the French to put down nationalist rebellions in 1940.
    • Rights were given for three airfields, with all other Japanese forces forbidden to enter Indochina without Vichy consent. Immediately after the signing, a group of Japanese officers, in a form of insubordination not uncommon in the Japanese military, attacked the border post of Dong Dang, laid siege to Lam Son, which, four days later, surrendered. There had been 40 killed, but 1,096 troops had deserted.
    • As soon as Japan surrendered, the French soon reestablished their authority.
What were the motivations/methods/outcomes of resistance and collaboration? How did this affect the Occupied Territory after the war?
  • The US had sent OSS teams into Indochina during the conflicts to link up with anti Japanese resistance elements in the region, and supply them with the military aid to fight the Japanese.
  • In Vietnam, a part of Indochina at the time, had three major aspects to their system. There was over-all organization for decision making, the training, recruitment, and management of personnel; and budgetary and fiscal procedures.
    • In addition, people in the non-civil-servant category received a monthly living allowance, while those admitted directly from government employment retain their regular salaries without loss of seniority rights.
  • Indochinese Communists had set up hidden headquarters in 1941, but most of the Vietnamese resistance to Japan, France or both, including both communist and non-communist groups, remained based over the border, in China. As part of the Allied fighting against the Japanese, the Chinese formed a nationalist resistance movement, the Dong Minh Hoi which included Communists, but wasn't controlled by them.

What were the effects of occupation on women & youth in the Occupied Territory?
  • Since 1949, a complex set a quadripartite mechanisms has been established in Indochina with a view to facilitating interstate coordination of customs, communication, economic policy, and the joint development of scientific and technical research facilities.
  • School were made so the academic curriculum had a heavy public law emphasis, plus small doses of economics and accounting. Special instruction was to be given in both the Vietnamese and the French languages.
  • In the technical field, there were a few small schools of engineering, agriculture, and forestry but their level of instruction was reported to be fairly elementary. Before World war II, the French supported Pasteur institute use to provide limited periods of advanced scientific training to graduates of these schools.
  • Some of the women were called comfort women. They were women and girls forced into prostitution corps created by the Japan during World war II. Stations of this system were located in Indochina as well as other countries like China. According to a testimony, young women from countries under Japanese Imperial control were abducted from their homes. In many cases, women were also lured with promises of work in factories or restaurants.

Work Sited:



"UCSB Case Method - 1941-1945 Indochina at the Crossroads." UCSB Case Method - 1941-1945 Indochina at the Crossroads. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. <__http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/projects/casemethod/beamish.html__>.



"Indochina and the Second World War." Citizendium. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<__http://en.citizendium.org/Indochina_and_the_Second_World_War__>.



Sharp, Walter. "Some Observations on Public Administration in Indochina." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
<__http://www.jstor.org/stable/972967__>.